The Houston Rockets have solid depth at small forward for 2013-14. It all starts with 24-year old Chandler Parsons. He played in 76 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 36.3 minutes, 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has now played in 139 games (133 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 32.8 minutes, 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He seems to be getting better every year and the Rockets hope that is the case once again in 2013-14. 31-year old Francisco Garcia is an offensive minded backup. He played in 58 games (20 starts) for the Kings and Rockets last year in which he averaged 17.7 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Garcia has now played in 480 games (133 starts) in his first 8 years in the NBA and he is averaging 22.0 minutes, 8.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. 25-year old Omri Casspi and 21-year old Terrence Jones will duke it out in training camp for the #3 job at small forward for the Rockets in 2013-14. Casspi played in 43 games (1 start) for the Cavaliers last year and he averaged 11.7 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Casspi has now played in 256 games (94 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 21.4 minutes, 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Jones played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Rockets as a rookie last year and he averaged 14.5 minutes, 5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.

24-year old shooting guard James Harden is a rising force for the Rockets. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 38.3 minutes, 25.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Harden has now played in 298 games (85 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 16.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. 27-year old Reggie Williams will likely be Harden’s top backup in 2013-14. Williams played in 40 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats last year and he averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He has now played in 177 games (32 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 20.0 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

25-year old Jeremy Lin is going to be the starting point guard in 2013-14 for the Rockets and he is a solid player. Lin played in 82 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Lin has now played in 146 games (107 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 26.5 minutes, 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. 25-year old Patrick Beverley is a pretty solid backup for the Rockets. He played in 41 games (0 starts) as a rookie last year and he averaged 17.4 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. 28-year old Aaron Brooks will also be on hand for the Rockets. He played in 53 games (20 starts) for the Rockets and Kings last year in which he averaged 18.8 minutes, 7.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He has now played in 325 games (149 starts) in his first five years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.0 minutes, 11.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. 22-year old rookie Isaiah Canaan (a 2nd round pick in the 2013 NBA Draft) will be sitting near the end of the bench in 2013-14 for the Rockets.

The Houston Rockets went all in with 26-year old center Omer Asik, signing him to a huge contract over the summer. He will take over as the Rockets’ starting center from Day #1. He played in 66 games (2 starts) for the Bulls last year and he averaged 14.7 minutes, 3.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Asik has now played in 148 games (2 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 2.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He is going to rebound and play defense really well for the Rockets this year, book it. 22-year old Donatas Motiejunas will be Asik’s top backup in 2012-13. He was a first round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He played in 51 games in Poland, VTB United League and Euroleague last year in which he averaged 27.3 minutes, 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has a nice upside. 21-year old Greg Smith will be #3 in line at center for the Rockets if he makes the roster. He played in 8 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Rockets last year and he averaged 8.6 minutes, 1.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

It appears that 23-year old Patrick Patterson will get his big shot to show what he can do in 2012-13. He played in 64 games (1 start) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Patterson has now played in 116 games (7 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 20.3 minutes, 7.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. 21-year old Royce White was a first round pick last June in the NBA Draft. He played in only one season for Iowa State in which he averaged 31.5 minutes, 13.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. White is afraid to fly, which will make his development fascinating to watch. He has a big time upside. 23-year old JaJuan Johnson, 25-year old Jon Brockman and 23-year old Marcus Morris will fight for P.T. behind Patterson and White. Johnson played in 36 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Celtics last year and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Brockman played in 35 games (0 starts) for the Bucks last year and he averaged 6.8 minutes, 1.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Brockman has now played in 150 games (10 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 10.5 minutes, 2.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Marcus Moore was buried on the bench for the Rockets as a rookie last year. Moore played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 7.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

30-year old Carlos Delfino will likely be the starting small forward for the Houston Rockets when the 2012-13 season opens, but he will have to play well to keep the job. He played in 54 games (53 starts) for the Bucks last year and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Delfino has now played in 440 games (165 starts) in his first seven years in the NBA and he is averaging 22.5 minutes, 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. 23-year old Chandler Parsons will likely be #2 in line at small forward for the Rockets in 2012-13. He played in 63 games (57 starts) for the Rockets as a rookie last year and he averaged 28.6 minutes, 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. 20-year old rookie first round pick Terrence Jones will be the #3 small forward when this year begins, but he could be the starter at some point this year. Jones played in 76 games in his two years at Kentucky and he averaged 30.4 minutes, 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game. He has a huge upside. 27-year old Gary Forbes is #4 in line at small forward for the Rockets. He played in 48 games (2 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 14.9 minutes, 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Forbes has now played in 111 games (13 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 13.5 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

29-year old Kevin Martin is going to have to hold off 20-year old, first round pick Jeremy Lamb for P.T. in 2012-13. Martin was in Kevin McHale’s Dog House quite a bit last season and that didn’t make much sense. Martin played in 40 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 31.6 minutes, 17.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He has now played in 475 games (387 starts) in his first 8 years in the NBA and he is averaging 31.3 minutes, 18.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Jeremy Lamb played in 75 games in his two years at Connecticut and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Lamb has a high upside and he is going to push Martin for his starting job in training camp and during the season.

The Houston Rockets better hope that 24-year old point guard Jeremy Lin is the real deal, because they gave him a lot of cash over the summer. Lin played in 35 games (25 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has now played in 64 games (25 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 19.1 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. 26-year old Toney Douglas and 26-year old Shaun Livingston are going to duke it out for the backup job in training camp. Douglas played in 38 games (9 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 17.3 minutes, 6.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He has now played in 175 games (30 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 21.2 minutes, 9.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Livingston played in 58 games (27 starts) for the Bucks last year and he averaged 18.8 minutes, 5.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He has now played in 324 games (106 starts) in his first seven years in the NBA and he is averaging 22.6 minutes, 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. 24-year old Courtney Fortson is going to have a hard time making the Rockets’ roster in 2012-13. He played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Rockets and Clippers last year in which he averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.

If the season started today, 24-year old Jordan Hill would be the Rockets’ starting lineup. Hill played in 72 games (11 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 15.6 minutes, 5.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has now played in 119 games (11 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 14.7 minutes, 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. 24-year old Hasheem Thabeet was a top five pick just three years ago, so he has a nice upside. He played in 47 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies & Rockets last year and he averaged 7.9 minutes, 1.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Thabeet has now played in 115 games (13 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 10.9 minutes, 2.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. 24-year old Marcus Cousin is #3 in line for the Rockets at center right now. He played in 4 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Utah Jazz last year and he averaged 4.5 minutes, 1.0 point and 0.8 rebounds per game. 21-year old rookie, first round pick Donatas Motiejunas is going to stay in Poland to play out the rest of his season.

31-year old Luis Scola remains one of the best players on the Rockets. He played in 74 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 32.6 minutes, 18.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Scola has now played in 320 games (277 starts) in his first four years with the Rockets and he is averaging 30.0 minutes, 14.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Scola is a very efficient offensive player as he has made 51.5% of his shots from the floor so far in his NBA career. 22-year old Patrick Patterson has a pretty nice upside for the Rockets. He played in 52 games (6 starts) as a rookie last year for the Rockets and he averaged 16.7 minutes, 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. 23-year old rookie Chandler Parsons will be likely #3 in line at power forward for the Rockets in 2011-12. He was a second round pick out of Florida in last June’s NBA Draft.